Resources

ETS Exposure

This page last reviewed December 05, 2014

Environmental Tobacco Smoke in Multi-Unit
Housing

Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) in multi-unit housing (apartments,
condominiums, etc.) is a growing concern. The California public is now protected from exposure to ETS in all indoor
public workplaces (with a few exceptions), therefore being
exposed in your own home has become a greater nuisance for the non-smoking public (85% of Californians). While
the indoor common areas of multi-family housing complexes (including hallways, stairwells, laundry and recreation
rooms) are considered workplaces under the State's workplace smoking ban,
secondhand smoke(SHS) in adjoining units of an apartment complex or condominium can seep in and expose non-smokers who
may then suffer adverse health effects. The California Department of Health Services says that even if apartment
residents do not smoke in their home they are still at risk from SHS seepage through shared walls, ventilation
systems, doors and windows. According to John Howard MD, Chief of the California Dvision of Occupational Safety and Health
(CAL OSHA), SHS can "move through light fixtures, ceiling crawl spaces, and into and out of doorways."
This puts tenants at risk for "irritant, allergic, acute and chronic cardiopulmonary and carcinogenic adverse
health effects." To learn more about the risks of drifting SHS in multi-unit housing and what you can do to
avoid it, follow this link.

Links to more information on ETS exposure in multi-unit housing, and how landlords and tenants can work to reduce
exposure are provided below.